A strange fatalism has taken hold of Barça, which is going through the season amid criticism and some shocks, nothing that has sent them out of Europe, nor from the revalidation of the title. But the atmosphere is sour in the team, the club and the fans. Where positive aspects can be detected, he prefers to dwell on negative things. Self-flagellation is imposed on optimism, the coach and the players are doubted. Everything pushes melancholy. Montjuïc annoys because it is uncomfortable, unpleasant and small. Lewandowski's goalscoring deficit is a concern. He dislikes the performance of the signings. The general performance of the team is sad. Xavi is questioned, who goes to press conferences like a fox and tries to defend himself as best he can. And, of course, it is annoying to see Girona a good step above in the standings.
There are reasons for concern, but not that much concern. Subjected to unbearable tensions during the last four years, Barça has internalized suffering as a mode of behavior in the face of reality. Not even Joan Laporta, an unredeemed optimist, is able to turn the mood in the club and its surroundings, where the narrative only explains the situation from the point of discouragement or, at best, skepticism, not only with the performance of the team, but with the conditions of the present and even the future of the club.
A depressing and frankly contagious virus has set in that only worsens the perception of the team and the club. Reality is assumed with a touch of masochism, of delight in disappointments. It is a pathology that Barça can and must correct, mainly because its condition is better than it seems. Tomorrow starts a new year, which in football terms means closing the first half of the season and starting the second.
Barça faces this decisive moment in better circumstances than during the last three or four years. He does not lead the League like last year, but he is not ruled out in the fight by any means. A large part of the success of this Real Madrid, which comes from a more than discreet year and is ravaged by casualties, is due to the enormous commitment of a staff short of cash and wide in substitutes who have entered on the team as Spartans. For the rest, count Bellingham and its rivals, no.
In the summer, following the success in the League, there was talk of a Barça finally refloated. He had nothing left over, nor was he lacking: a long squad, two signings in defense – Íñigo Martínez and Cancelo – and Gündogan in midfield, with De Jong, Pedri and Gavi, a line that sounded like heavenly music. As for the forward, the arrival of João Félix triggered the general enthusiasm. There were two formidable finds, Lamine Yamal and Fermín, in the chapter of good news.
In terms of guarantees, Barça 2023-24 is superior to the previous season, no less than that of the League title. Nothing has changed this feeling, except for the injury to Gavi, who is much more than a phenomenal player at Barça. Gavi is an inexhaustible transmitter of energy. His absence has damaged the mental health of the team as much or more than the game. During the last few weeks, it seemed that without Gavi, Barça had no one to defend him.
Barça have to choose: curl up in this depressive phase or rummage through all the positive aspects that this season has to offer. He returns after such a long time in the round of 16 of the European Cup, against the current disaffected Napoli. He has plenty of time to repair the latest breakdowns in the League. He explains with the same squad that he had so much optimism before the start of the championship. Yes, he plays in Montjuïc, so what. From tomorrow, Barça will have to choose between their morbid fatalism or the splendid opportunities offered by the second half of the season. Resources are left over.
